Looking Back:

Under Section 17(2) of Reg. 19, the type of work that can be delegated to the Labour Supplier must be “supporting services or activities that are not directly related to the main production process”. Section 17(3) states that “supporting services as intended by section (2) shall include (meliputi):

a. cleaning services;

 
b. catering services for employee/labour;

 
c. security services;

 
d. supporting services in mining and oil industry; and

 
e. transportation services for employee/labour”.

 
The Ministry of Labour has recently issued a ruling letter to our firm confirming that these are the only circumstances in which outsourcing of labour supply is permitted.

 
The Ministry of Labour also confirms that any activities outside of these five circumstances can be outsourced through a services agreement arrangement (rather than outsourcing of labour supply) provided that the intended activities fall within the ancillary activities identified in the relevant industry association “Flowchart” and user company’s “Description” as being open to outsourcing by services agreement.

19 September: Limitation Period On Employee Claims Struck Down

 
The two year limitation period for employees to file claims for wages and benefits under Article 96 of the Manpower Law has been struck down by Constitutional Court Decision No.100/PUU-X/2012. Given the resulting increased risk of old claims, employers are well advised to properly document and process employee terminations.

19 November: Increased Protection For Outsourced Workers: Regulation 19

 
The Ministry of Labour recently issued Regulation 19 clarifying the restrictions and requirements applicable to the outsourcing of labour supply and subcontracting of work between companies. The focus of attention has been on outsourcing – labour supply. However, all subcontracts of services are also subject to various new restrictions (i.e., non core activities only), registration requirements for the service contracts themselves, and various supporting documents.

 
Some industry associations have issued the necessary “Flowchart” describing the core activities in their respective industries in contrast with the ancillary activities that can be subcontracted to service providers. All companies wishing to enter into or continue services agreements after November 19, 2003, must file their own “Description” of core vs. ancillary activities at the Ministry of Labour which must be consistent with the industry Flowchart.

 
The Ministry of Labour has recently published SE.04/Men/VIII/2013 which was dated August 26, 2013 regarding Guidelines for Implementing Regulation of MOMT Reg. No.19 of 2012. This decree clarifies the procedures and forms to file outsourcing related documents with the Ministry of Labour.

30 December: New Rules On Hiring Expatriates

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration (“MOMT”) issued MOMT Regulation No. 12 of 2013 regarding Procedures for Employing Foreign Manpower (“MOMT Reg 12”) which contemplates several changes to the previous 2008 regulation and introduces a new mechanism on the temporary hiring of foreign employees.

 
Requirements To Hire A Foreign Worker

 
A foreign candidate must meet provide: (i) suitable educational qualifications, (ii) suitable work experience of at least five years, (iii) an undertaking to transfer knowledge to Indonesians, and (iv) be able to communicate in the Indonesian language. The 2008 regulation merely required either point (i) or (ii), whereas the new regulation requires that both requirements be met. The language requirement is not new and there is no indication that there will be any change of policy in that regard.

Foreign Worker Utilization Plan

 
The supporting documents now include a written Indonesian Counterpart Mentoring Program Plan (Rencana Program Pendampingan) in addition to the appointment letter of the Indonesian counterpart trainee.

 
Hiring Foreign Worker For Temporary Work

 
The MOMT Reg 12 provides a new mechanism to obtain a six month work permit for temporary work which is described as (i) work on a project basis, (ii) work that is related to machinery installation, electricity, after-sales service, or products in its business trial stage.

Many employers have successfully applied to regional authorities for exemption from the minimum wage increases on financial grounds. Hundreds of these exemption approvals have been recently overturned by the Administrative Court which are now under appeal in the Supreme Court.

 
The recent Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2013 dated September 27, 2013 and MOMT Regulation No. 7 of 2013 dated October 2, 2013 regarding Minimum Wage provide that minimum wage decision making by regional governments must take into account “Decent Living Component”, productivity and economic growth.